Posts Tagged ‘Future of Media’

I am thrilled about participating in TEDx Transmedia. I’ll be the final speaker there at the end of the day. They have a stellar lineup of speakers, all exploring the future potential for media. It’s happening in Rome on September 28.

Below I’ve posted a preview interview that I did for the event. Personally I find the word “transmedia” inelegant, like new media in drag, but I am a big fan of innovation in television. I am looking forward to seeing some amazing things in Rome.

TEDxTransmedia (TXT): Hi Robert, please can you give a brief overview of your relationship with Transmedia? What do you think of the term?

Robert Tercek (RT): The word “transmedia” may not beautiful, but the concept is deeply appealing. Continue Reading

In my previous post, I shared the first half of the transcript for my opening keynote speech about the future of television at the PrimeTime conference in Ottawa in March. Below you will find the text for the second half of the complete transcript for my speech. This section focuses on Facebook’s impact on social media, Google’s impressive collection of video properties, and it concludes with speculation about how the future media landscape will be controlled. The final section includes a quick survey of the amazing diversity of original video content on digital platforms. Enjoy.

On Thursday, March 1, 2012, I gave the opening keynote speech at the CMPA’s PrimeTime conference in Ottawa. My topic was the future of the television. This talk examines the disruption of the old television industry and the rapid emergence of an entirely new ecosystem for digital video.

This clip includes the full video of the speech. I’ve included the text transcript below.

http://www.vimeo.com/40328295Topics: second-screen apps, social discovery, over-the-top video OTT, cord-cutting, disruption in cable TV and pay TV, the rise of the new ecosystem, the changes wrought by Facebook, Google, Apple, Amazon and other technology giants, and the Motorola acquisition by Google. Also includes discussion about Aereo, Boxee, and other new players.

At the recent MIPTV market in Cannes, I interviewed Philip DeBevoise, the co-founder of the super-hot online video startup Machinima. This Los Angeles-based company has experienced some incredible results in the past year. They reach a global audience of 166 million viewers and they serve more than 1.4 billion video views each month. That’s way bigger than any traditional TV channel.

I’ve known Phillip’s brother (and co-founder) Allen for more than a decade. We worked together in the mid-1990s on pioneering online narratives and some early interactive TV concepts. I’ve watched his progress at Machinima with great interest because it offers some useful insight into the dynamics of the new video business that will eventually encompass today’s television industry.

Here’s the video of my recent speech at TEDxMarin. The theme of the event was “Communication Revolution”. The organizers invited me to speak about the future of television, social media and personal storytelling.

TED talks are all about passion and ideas. The ideas that get me most excited these days don’t come from big corporations or even startup ventures. They tend to come from individuals who are working outside of the context of business entirely. I decided to focus my comments on four activists who are using media to tell stories that literally change the world. I find these people very inspiring. They are some of the 85 Creative Activists sponsored by the Creative Visions Foundation, where I have been involved on a volunteer basis.

There’s a predictable cycle in business, at least in the sectors of technology, media and telecommunications.

In the first part of the cycle, companies achieve success by introducing a new service that delights customers: call it the “Value Creation” phase. This is the phase when lots of customers sign up. Remember when you bought your first Windows computer, your first iPod, or your first smartphone? Chances are good that you made the switch at the exact same moment when millions of other people were migrating to these new gizmos, too. Everyone was attracted by a novel combination of utility, cool factor and the right price.

But over time, as the new product/service evolves into our daily habit, some companies are tempted to Continue Reading

The advent of table computers and electronic book readers poses a serious challenge to the traditional business of book publishing. As I’ve written previously, it’s entirely possible that the economics of print publishing will crumble faster than commonly expected.

Recently I was invited to appear on “This Week In Books” to discuss the implications of electronic book publishing for authors, publishers and readers. There’s no doubt that this transition will present some difficult challenges, but our conversation was focused on the many new opportunities for authors to connect with their audiences via digital media. Printed books are great in many ways, and that’s why they’ve continued to occupy a central role in modern civilization in more or less unaltered form for 500 years. But now the Gutenberg culture is going to be transformed. Watch the video clip:

My topic was “Coercion and Cooperation in the Second Century of Electronic Media.” And my message was that the architecture of a business determines how its creative energy is channeled. Fairfax Media kindly provided me the video, posted here. Continue Reading

At CES 2011, I gave the opening address to a gathering of executives from the storage industry. My talk, titled “Information Transformation”, provided examples and vivid metaphors to illustrate the size and scope of the massive change that is occurring right now. The volume of information generated by our society is so vast that it leaves most people numb: my goal was to reawaken the audience to the possibilities that lie ahead in this new era. Follow the link to to see the video. Continue Reading

This week I was a guest on “This Week In Careers.” Host Lisa Mandell interviewed me about career opportunities of the future. I spoke about several industries that will grow this decade and the steps to take now to prepare for the jobs of the future.

In a wide-ranging interview, we covered several topics, including several lessons that I’ve learned in my 22 year career as a TV director, game designer, creative executive and entrepreneur:

Two essential steps that every young person should take in college to prepare for the future;

How to make yourself irreplaceable at work by becoming an in-house expert;

Three books that will dramatically change your perspective about your next career;

How to evaluate the tradeoff between career advancement versus earning a graduate degree;

The importance of international experience: the benefit of gaining new cultural perspectives;

Four industries that are poised for explosive growth this decade.

This Week In is a bold new startup founded by serial entrepreneur Jason Calacanis and a smart young CEO Mark Jeffrey. Online video is growing fast, and this company is doing exciting things. They’ve mastered the art of rapid video production and low cost distribution, which are two evolutionary skillsets necessary to thrive in the online ecosystem. It’s definitely worth keeping an eye on ThisWeekIn.com.